The Chemical Attack on Ghouta

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The Arab Cultural Centre in Jaramana recently hosted a symposium on “Syria’s Ancient Ruins and Civilization” with the participation of researchers Iman al-Hourani and Mu’taz Rafe’i. The two researchers cast light on some important sides of Syria’s great civilization and its crucial contribution to human civilization in various domains.

Researcher al-Hourani underlined the importance of Syria’s history and its geographical location referring that Syria’s civilization dates back to 10.000 years. She stressed that most archaeological studies proved that Syria is the cradle of human civilization, pointing out that the development of agriculture in Syria meant settled communities. Tribes and peoples began to prefer agriculture to hunting and with the appearance of bronze and copper tools, agriculture developed quickly. Along with the development in agriculture came a development in trade, as urbanized communities began to engage in various economic activities. In this land, Man discovered the secrets of Agriculture and Metallurgy, and invented the very first alphabet. The lecturer added that religions, Philosophies, language of trade, systems of urban development, of diplomatic and cultural exchange; all these germinated in geographical Syria. She reviewed Syria’s main contribution to human civilization, especially the discovery of the first alphabet and the first music piece.

In turn, Rafe’i talked about Mari Kingdom and its diverse contributions to human civilization in various spheres. He also shed light on Ebla’s kingdom and its civilization. The Great Kingdoms of Ebla and Mari are the sites of where the invention of writing began. Found in both are tablets of Cuneiform writing, the royal archives that contributed to unveiling important information about social, economic and political life in ancient times. These kingdoms lasted about 1000 years due to their cultural development, their rising trade with both Mesopotamia and the Mediterranean, and due to the irrigation of the Euphrates. Both of these kingdoms were taken over by the Acadians from Mesopotamia and then by the Amorites at the end of this period. This period also saw the rise of Ugarit where the oldest written alphabet in the world is believed to have been developed. Ugarit and Byblos grew to become powerful commercial centres.

One part of his lecture was devoted to Palmyra and its fundamental trade role between the East and the West. The lecture talked about Queen Zenobia who assumed power on regency of her son after the death of her husband Oedenthius. She defied the Romans and achieved several victories against them expanding her empire eastward and westward. But in the end, the Roman emperor Aurlien achieved victory against Zenobia taking her a captive to Rome. Many legends and stories have been woven around the fate of Zenobia in Rome, one of them is that Aurlien himself admired her character and married her.

He also talked about Damascus seven gates, the Umayyad Mosque and the ancient churches of Damascus, referring to the interaction between Muslims and Christians in Syria over various ages and the peaceful co-existence Syria enjoys since time immemorial.

DAMASCUS, (ST)_ The General Directorate of Antiquities and Museums had received 18 pieces of mosaics from the Directorate of Antiquities in Lebanon.

The pieces were confiscated by the Lebanese authorities in January 2012, at the aL-Areda border crossing between Syria and Lebanon.

These pieces date back to the end of the Roman era and the beginning of the Byzantine period, the heritage featuring imprints that the cities of northern Syria are well known for.

The decoration of these pieces belonged to the mosaic schools in the north of Syria.

Experts from the General Directorate of Antiquities and Museums unraveled that 69 archaeological pieces are found at the Lebanese Directorate of Antiquities that were seized earlier. The concerned Syrian and Lebanese authorities will do the necessary measures to ensure the restoration of these archaeological pieces.

The General Directorate of Antiquities and Museums expressed appreciation for the Lebanese Directorate of Antiquities for assisting the Syrian authorities in combating the illicit trafficking of monument and the cooperation that helped to restore the Syrian artifacts to their original habitat.

DAMASCUS, (ST)_ The General Directorate of Antiquities and Museums in cooperation with the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural organization UNESCO will organize on October 24th in al-Chameyah hall of the National Museum in Damascus a technical workshop on Emergency Protection of Syrian Cultural Heritage to have an overview of experiences available in this field, and to strengthen and develop the skills of those working in the directorate as to how to protect movable and immovable cultural property in critical times.

According to Dr. Mamoun Abdulkarim, the Director General of Antiquities and Museums, in an exclusive interview with Syria Times reporter, Butheina al-Nounou, some 35 directorate personnel, and other three senior officials, on behalf of UNESCO, will take part in the workshop.

Most of Aleppo 's monuments were under the fire of terrorists and huge material damage was reported when terrorist gangs hit Aleppo National Museum after a Car Explosion in Sa'ad Allah Al Jabri Square and Al Amir Hotel in Bab Jininarea , leaving also two guards and the general secretary of the museum wounded. The damage included many broken windows in the museum, and the falling apart of the prefabricated ceiling.

Some historical buildings and shops in Aleppo ancient markets have been damaged by fire that erupted due to fierce clashes there. Reports indicated that more than 150 shops have been damaged as fire destroyed their stored goods and their new wooden doors. The damage occurred in Souk Al Zerb; Souk Al Ebi, Souk Al Atmeh; Souk Al Atareen; Souk Al Niswan; Souk Al Souf; Souk Al Sagha. Further damage was reported in many other markets that was impossible to assess due to the difficulty for persons concerned at the Directorate of Aleppo Antiquities to reach the area for estimating and assessment of the extent of this damage.

While deploring the destruction of Aleppo 's treasury, one has to recall that Aleppo Ancient Markets bears witness to one of the most significant pages in the history of Aleppo during the Islamic Ages, with its khans, inns and shops that exceed 1500 in number constituting 39 markets that are ones of the longest covered markets in the entire world.

Nevertheless, the extent of the damage to Syrian cultural heritage can be seen as limited until now, thanks to the cooperation of the General Directorate of Antiquities and Museum and all the parties concerned along with the local communities. What has been reported by the media outlets is exaggerated and lacks objectivity and accuracy.

The General Directorate has always been committed to report any damage that may hit the historical sites in Syria with credibility and transparency. For this reason, the Directorate issues a periodic report that includes all information concerning the latest development on the ground, based on data that is regularly updated to assess and document any damage and looting that might occur to museums and archeological sites.

It can be said that all Syrian museums have been well secured, and their artifacts are safe. The most precious and rare pieces have been secured in safer places. Since the beginning of the crisis, looting has been limited to only two artifacts that are not rare pieces: a small golden statue that dates back to the Aramaic period from Hamah Museum, and a marble sculptured piece that is not of a rare archeological value.

Nevertheless, the distant archeological sites have suffered most due to shortage of guards and the difficulty of providing the necessary protection for them, not to mention the secret excavation by looters of artifacts, a matter that is difficult to control due to the extensively rich heritage that Syria owns. It is extremely difficult to protect more than 10000 historical sites without mobilizing and engaging the local communities, the thing which the General Directorate really relies on.

Among the sites damaged are: Andreen historical site; Busra (limited damage has hit some archeological buildings); Aphamia (it suffered random excavations, but the site is safe now); the residence of the archeological mission in Tal Saka (limited material damage); Dora Europos; Palmyra (some secret excavations were conducted, but things are under control now); Ebla (secret excavations have been contained, due to the cooperation of the local community).

Excavations in some areas are suspended currently due to the events. International sanctions have greatly affected the presence of foreign archeological missions, though heads of missions have been in constant contact with the General Directorate providing their moral support and good will in advocating the protection of Syrian cultural heritage. Some national missions, however, have been active recently in safe areas (Old Damascus, Tartous, Lattakia, Suweida) and have even discovered new artifacts and antiquities.

To eliminate damages, a strategy was set since the beginning of the crisis, the Ministry of Culture, with the Directorate and other concerned bodies, along with the local communities took many measures to provide protection to all archeological sites. Precautionary steps were taken to contain any acts of trespassing and looting of the cultural heritage, and to repair what was damaged. Rare artifacts were secured in safe places; alarm systems were installed in museums and citadels; the number of archeological guards has been increased, and the role of archeological police has been activated; and the local communities were mobilized to protect heritage in their areas, cities and villages. The more the local communities cooperate, the more protection can be provided against the looters of the invaluable Syrian cultural heritage.

Butheina Alnounou
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The ongoing crisis in Syria has had damaging effects on the archeological heritage in Syria. Some historical sites have been sabotaged, looted, robbed and sometimes even destroyed, with some artifacts smuggled outside the country. For this reason, the Ministry of Culture, through the General Directorate of Antiquities and Museums, launches a national campaign to engage local communities in order to protect Syria's cultural heritage- a treasure for all humanity.

The campaign aims, according to Dr. Mamoun Abdulkarim, the director General of Antiquities and Museums, to raise the awareness of the local communities about the great value of their national heritage, to encourage them to take pride in its constituents and to protect it from theft and sabotage.

In an exclusive interview with Syria Times reporter, Butheina al-Nounou, Dr. Abdulkarim added that it is an established fact that without the support of the local communities to all initiatives set to realize the real value of their heritage, all efforts made by official bodies concerned will remain inadequate to achieve the desired objective.

The campaign will involve all Syrian governorates. It is designed to adopt advertisements and street billboard, in addition to 15-30-minute TV and Radio spots to promote the basic theme of the national campaign. Coordination will be maintained with journalists in both newspapers and electronic journals to publish introductory and informative articles, serving to this end. Work will also focus on directing staff in different directorates of Syrian antiquities to cooperate with volunteers and advocates of antiquities preservation, along with opinion leaders, cultural and intellectual elite, and religious figures in rural and urban areas to promote the Syrian heritage protection Campaign. Brochures and other publications will be distributed in universities and schools for this matter. For further awareness dissemination, the General Directorate for Antiquities and Museums will hold a press conference to launch the campaign and to publicize it in the different media outlets.

Pottery which appeared around 5500 B.C. spread with rapid growth into northern Mesopotamia and the plateau of Iran, and there, painted pottery which added color in the late Neolithic period, came to be made. Especially in northern Syria, where , in particular at Tell- Khalaf, an excellent style of pottery with its thin and fine body and bright colors was developed.

In the post Khalaf period, however, along with the development of production of pottery, the population density of the agricultural villages greatly increased.

When agriculture stabilized, people naturally expected to preserve their food for a long time. Therefore, they began to seal their food vessels with a stamp and later with a cylinder seal. These seals and designs used to imply some kind of incantation with a purpose to ward off evil spirits. Later, the use of these seals further developed and it began to indicate ownership and property. This development was the result of the stabilized state of agriculture and stock- breeding. In the Khalaf period, the population increased quickly and branch villages formed out of the mother- villages.

At that time, agriculture relied on rain, as the same situation remains in northern Syria today, and food civilization spread over a wider area. These mother and branch villages did not operate separately, but formed a huge community and mother villages supplied products to its branch villages. In the pre-pottery period, ritual services, which were previously performed in private, began to be done in the village temple and the new cultivated crop was presented there to the gods.

These villages developed into cities with a temple as its nucleus. In this respect, the emergence of cities began in the late Neolithic era. Twenty years ago , upon doing construction works at Thawra Dam in Tabaqqa, excavation was done by German, Belgian and Dutch teams. These archeologists unearthed a city constructed around a temple and surrounded by a rampart, as seen in the remains of Habuba Kabira south Tell, Tell Cannas and Jabal Arud.

In Habuba Kabira on the banks of the Euphrates, which was excavated by a German team, clay pipes were found placed on one side of the road to draw up river water and to supply each house. Habuba Kabira is located on the right bank of the middle reaches of the Euphrates, which is near Raqqa. When excavating for the construction of Thawra dam, research was immediately carried out by a German team from 1969 through 1975. The finds prove that it is the site of a small city ( including 18 hectares of town area), built at the same time as the second half of the Uruk period in Mesopotamia. Researches focused especially on discovering the original construction of the town.

However, many cylinder seals and impressions were unearthed in Habuba Kabira which offer data suitable for studying the early cylinder seals of Syria. Most of the cylinder seals have Zoomorphic designs. Moreover, Tell Brak is a huge mount near the jaqjaq river which is a tributary of el- Khabour river running through northeastern Syria. The Eye Temple in Tell Brak was constructed on a mound six meters in height. At the lower part of the mound, a layer of grey bricks was found. This lawyer is thought to have been from the ruins of another temple which is older than the Eye Temple. It has been proved that this place was a sacred area for a long period of time. Many stamps were unearthed in this layer.

Many of the figurines unearthed at the Eye Temple indicate that they were used as amulets and were discovered in great quantity at a corner of the grey larger of the mound. They might have been returned to the temple after being used as votive objects. Grog-shaped figurines were among the most common ones found at Tell Brak. Form was considered a symbol of fertility and connected with rain. Compared to Mesopotamia which was an agricultural area that used irrigation water, Tell Brak, also an agricultural area, relied on rainfall and has more from figures. It probably expresses a strong desire for rain.

The Eye Temple of Tell Brak consists of a main room with many other small rooms that run east to west. Similarities found in this temple and the temples excavated at Uruk and Eridu in Mesopotamia are: the temple layout, mosaic designs formed by clay on the walls, and the technique of building temples on a high mound constructed on top of older mounds as was the custom to rebuild sacred places on the same spot.